Determination of the performance of motor vehicle consumables such as engine lubricants, fuel and tyres is useful as part of the process of developing new lubricants, fuels and tyres. Determination of the performance of such consumables can be undertaken by operating the vehicle under standard conditions such as in a laboratory on a “rolling road” or by operating the engine out of the engine on a test bed. A disadvantage with such methods, is that operating conditions may not correspond to actual operating conditions in general use by the vehicle.
Determination of the performance of engine lubricant, fuel or tyres by operating the vehicle in a road test has a disadvantage that great care has to be taken to achieve comparable operating conditions for comparison between different engine lubricants, fuels or tyres.
There remains a need for a method for determining the performance of motor vehicle consumables such as engine lubricant, fuel and tyres which overcomes or at least mitigates these problems.